It is the tall titfer that was once de rigueur for high society and Fred
Astaire. Then, for decades, the top hat bottomed out, championed by nobody
except The Fat Controller.

So unloved had the style become that when David Cameron had a topper thrust
upon his head by a wellwisher on the campaign trail in April, the prime
minister-to-be adopted the aghast expression of a man who would rather be
photographed eating a top hat than wearing one.

Now, though, the top hat is enjoying a comeback. Marks & Spencer,
Britain’s biggest fashion retailer, has just introduced a topper